The reason for such a heavy hand was that the Second Madam had said, Wen Kui must not die yet!
The general idea was that certain things had not yet been found.
In other words, as long as the man was not killed, anything was acceptable.
What is a servant? It is someone who reads the master’s intentions.
Some things need not be stated outright. Servants are particularly sensitive in this regard and can sense it. The Second Madam disliked Wen Kui, and once she took charge of the household, she would never allow him to regain his standing.
The fact was already plain, the Second Madam had already taken control of the household!
After a punch, before Wen Kui could even catch his breath from the pain, the sound of whipping resumed…
“Madam, the letter has been dispatched, and people have already been sent to the estate.”
Inside the Second Branch hall, a personal maid returned in haste and reported to Lady Wen Guo.
Lady Wen Guo gave a slight nod.
The letter was handwritten by Lady Wen Guo herself, a plea for help sent to her maiden family. Though her maiden family could not compare to the Wen clan, they were still a prominent local family. She had asked her brother to dispatch men to ambush the road leading to the Yuwen household, the future home of Wen Xin’s intended husband. Once Wen Xin was spotted, they were to secretly intercept her immediately.
With matters reaching this stage, any slight disturbance in the surroundings caused unease. She already sensed that there was something wrong with Wen Xin, and she would lose sleep and appetite unless she kept the situation under her own control. She felt that fleeing to the Yuwen household was the safest option for Wen Xin, so she deemed it a likely escape route and had to make preparations in advance.
As for the estate, it was her own property, originally part of her dowry when she married. All the staff there were her own people. She now needed to urgently recall a group of reliable hands to serve under her command.
By now, she felt that preparations were nearly complete. Her injured body felt utterly exhausted in both mind and spirit. After enduring until nearly dawn, Lady Wen Guo finally could not hold on any longer. She fell into a heavy sleep, though she remained trapped in nightmares throughout.
As it happened, she had not even slept for a single hour in that dazed state before she was woken again.
Wen Xin’s maid, Xiaohong, had been captured and brought back!
“What are you doing? Let me go, let me go at once!”
Carried in like a chick, Xiaohong struggled and shrieked. She had not yet adjusted to her fallen status. Before she fled, while still in the Wen household, she had basked in Wen Xin’s favour, and no one had dared treat her this way, which made her extremely furious.
She was eventually thrown to the ground with a cry of pain. When she looked up, she found Lady Wen Guo standing over her, looking down.
The five carriages that had fled the Wen estate were indeed tracked down by the dispatched men. Four of them were found, but the occupants had vanished without a trace, and even the drivers were gone. This made Lady Wen Guo even more uneasy. Although Wen Kui had offered no resistance, she still felt the immense threat he posed to her. She realised that once he was outside the Wen estate and away from her direct sight, his influence over the Wen clan’s power in places she could not see far exceeded her own.
The remaining carriage had only yielded Xiaohong.
Seeing it was her, Xiaohong immediately tried to rise and bow, only for Lady Wen Guo to step firmly on the back of her hand.
“Ah!” Xiaohong gritted her teeth in pain.
A look of satisfaction flashed across Lady Wen Guo’s face. In the past, Wen Xin had relied on the old master’s favour, and even her own servants ranked higher than those of the Second Branch. Even Lady Wen Guo herself had to be polite to such a young maid. Now, she was truly trampled beneath her foot.
She slowly crouched down and asked coldly, “Speak. Where is Wen Xin?”
Unable to pull her hand free, Xiaohong replied through the pain, “Madam, I truly know nothing. The steward arranged for me to board a carriage, told me not to ask any questions, and just to follow the driver…”
Slap! Lady Wen Guo swung her hand and delivered a sharp slap to Xiaohong’s face. “Still daring to be stubborn!”
Saying this, she rose and gave a slight nod to the side. Her attendants immediately swarmed forward, pinning Xiaohong firmly to the ground. One person fetched embroidery needles and began driving them under Xiaohong’s fingernails. The room instantly echoed with Xiaohong’s piercing screams…
At noon, a large bird descended from the sky, transforming into human form as it landed in the Wen estate. Qianlilang had arrived, bringing a letter.
The letter was from Qinglian Mountain, addressed to Fan Wuchou.
It was handwritten by the sect master of Qinglian Mountain, a reply after receiving Fan Wuchou’s message regarding the sudden upheaval in the Wen clan.
The letter contained only two sentences. First, it demanded that Wen Xin must be protected at all costs. Second, the sect master stated that he would personally lead a group to arrive the following day.
“Master, what is wrong?” Zou Yunting approached and asked. He was also feeling guilty and wanted to gather more information.
Fan Wuchou casually handed the letter to him to read.
After reading it, Zou Yunting said, “It seems the sect master and his party are already travelling.”
Fan Wuchou hummed in agreement, his mind still pondering the contents. The letter contained only two concise sentences, but he could feel that the fewer the words, the more serious the matter.
The sect master intended to grace them with his personal presence, yet what was prioritised above all else was the protection of Wen Xin. Protecting Wen Xin was placed at the very forefront!
First, Wen Kui had willingly submitted to torture rather than reveal Wen Xin, clearly intending to protect her. Now the sect master was also stressing her protection. He realised that this Wen Xin must hold some extraordinary significance.
Awakening to this realisation, he suddenly turned and said sternly to Zou Yunting, “You will personally lead men to the Second Branch and demand Wen Kui be handed over immediately. I will interrogate him myself.”
Zou Yunting hesitated briefly. “That woman from the Second Branch has lost so many family members and is acting like a madwoman. What if she stubbornly refuses to hand him over?”
“Stubbornly?” Fan Wuchou turned his head and looked at him coldly. “I said I will interrogate him myself, and I am ordering you to take men and fetch him. Do you not understand?”
Zou Yunting understood immediately. He cupped his hands and replied, “Yes.”
Fan Wuchou added, “And bring back that Xiaohong who was just captured as well!”
Having seen the sect master’s letter, his attitude began to lean towards one side, and he started to align himself with protecting Wen Xin’s interests.
“Yes.” Zou Yunting agreed, turned around, waved to a few men, and they departed together.
Before long, the hurried group broke into the Wen family’s private dungeon and forcibly removed Wen Kui from the torture rack.
Wen Kui had been tortured beyond recognition, appearing utterly on the verge of death. He was carried out on half a door panel.
The person who had tortured Wen Kui all night could only watch helplessly as the Qinglian Mountain men took him away. His face was filled with shock and doubt, and fear began to show in his eyes.
Xiaohong was also carried away on half a door panel. After being rescued, she had already fallen into a coma, her body covered in bloodstains.
With the Qinglian Mountain people stepping in personally, even some of the Wen estate’s guards dared not intervene. Lady Wen Guo, who had hurried over, could not stop them either. She could only call out, “Young Master Zou, might I have a word with you in private?”
Zou Yunting was also looking to settle accounts with her. He immediately waved for the others to take Wen Kui back first, then followed Lady Wen Guo to the long corridor for a quiet conversation.
Once they were alone, Lady Wen Guo immediately asked, “What is the meaning of this?”
Zou Yunting said sternly, “I was about to ask you the same. You promised to let Wen Xin go, so why are you still pursuing her relentlessly?”
Lady Wen Guo ignored his question. “I have already sent a letter to my brother in my maiden family, asking him to dispatch men to intercept her on the vital road to the Yuwen household. In short, Wen Xin must not be allowed to go there. Once she arrives, she will truly become Yuwen Yuan’s woman, and you will have no further connection to her. If you do not believe me, I can call my personal maid here now for you to question and verify.”
Zou Yunting was momentarily stunned by her response. He roughly understood her meaning, realising her actions were still aimed at fulfilling her promise to him. But on second thought, something felt wrong. He said sternly, “Then why did you frame her for poisoning?”
A mocking expression crossed Lady Wen Guo’s beautiful face. “Are you foolish? Without proper justification, on what grounds could I mobilise the Wen clan’s forces to bring back the Third Miss? Once she is brought back, it is easy to clear her name. A simple investigation would reveal she completely lacks the ability to commit poisoning, nor would she have any reason to do so.”
Though Zou Yunting remained somewhat sceptical, he had nothing more to say. There was a reason he had been unable to extricate himself from Lady Wen Guo’s entanglements for so long.
Lady Wen Guo continued, “Do you not know that Wen Kui’s influence within the Wen clan is immense? Do you realise what a massive future trouble it will be to pull him out?”
Zou Yunting snorted coldly. “So you do know fear? I am actually surprised you have not eliminated him yet.”
It was clearly a taunt, implying she was the sort of person who could harm her own husband and daughter.
Lady Wen Guo gritted her teeth. “You know perfectly well what the Qin family is investigating. With the old master gone, the only one who knows the truth is likely this old fellow. If I cannot give the Qin family an answer, even if he does not dare to expose it, the information he holds is enough to prevent the Second Branch from inheriting the Wen clan.”
Zou Yunting said, “Did you not promise that once you controlled the Wen clan, you would use their power in Ningzhou to help him find someone?”
Lady Wen Guo replied, “Wen Kui knows many of the Wen clan’s secrets, and he has also hidden the family master’s seal. Do not stray from the point now. Tell me quickly, what is the meaning of your master suddenly taking both of them away?”
“It may be related to the sect master’s letter…”
Zou Yunting paused for a moment, but ultimately revealed the contents of the letter.
“Protect Wen Xin! The Qinglian Mountain sect master ordered her protection…” Lady Wen Guo stood stunned, muttering to herself. Her expression gradually darkened, and she gritted her teeth. “A naive young girl. The old master favoured her, Wen Kui risked his life to protect her, and now the sect master wants to protect her as well. On what grounds? The family master’s seal is also missing. There is absolutely a problem here. This girl cannot be allowed to live.”
Zou Yunting’s face darkened. “You want to kill her?”
Lady Wen Guo’s bright eyes fixed on him with a deep gaze. “Your words have reminded me of something. If Wen Xin is being protected so heavily, how could her escape be as simple as leaving in a single carriage? Her personal maid left, yet was not travelling with her. We may have fallen for Wen Kui’s diversion. It is highly likely Wen Xin is still hidden within the Wen estate. We must search the estate. Find her. Either you kill her, or you smuggle her away and flee, or you sit and wait for an accident that ruins us both, leaving you with nothing. The choice is yours.”
Zou Yunting’s jaw tightened. At this moment, he only wanted to kill the woman standing before him.
Lady Wen Guo continued, “I am keeping a close watch on everyone connected to Wen Xin. On reflection, your junior martial sister is behaving very strangely. With such a major incident unfolding, she remains utterly at ease, living alone in the Jade Garden. Given her relationship with Wen Xin, she shows no signs of anxiety. I now suspect she might know something. As a disciple of Qinglian Mountain, the estate’s personnel cannot easily move against her. But you are her senior martial brother, and she has feelings for you. It would be much easier for you to work on her.”